golfCharlie. Just how did you determine the pigeon you slaughtered wasn't married? A lack of a ring around its leg is no indication, it could have been off galivanting. You could have left a multitude of squabs as orphans.

ACK, apart from some unradicalised rodents and a single pigeon, I have never used any form of "gun" to shoot anything other than proprietary targets. I come from a military family, have done work for the military, and used some of their weapons under training, on their ranges, but am not ex-military myself.

I have never used a Walther PPK.

ACK
I think we are very much on the same wavelength. I enjoy nature and having being brought up in the countryside have observed it close up since I can remember. Satisfaction in doing a job that needs to be done and doing it well is not the same as enjoying it; I put myself in the former category. Though one can enjoy the challenge. As to the videos they were intended to inform not titillate. ;-)

rhoda

I found going to university from collage a culture shock, going from being taught to largley teaching yourself. I did stick it out though and got my degrees.

" in a two tier system being in the upper tier is always best."

This the the crux of the matter. The point of the anti grammar argument is what happens to the kids who are not selected. They still deserve an appropriate well-resourced education, and they didn't always get it. In the old world the school was educating girls to be at best secretaries and boys to go to the factory or down the mine. The challenge now is to provide an education which will allow them to get on in today's world. The intelligent kids will do all right regardless. A good education for all should be the aim. That means all. Even if they are a bit thick and their parents don't push them.

Note that grammar vs comp is really therefore a diversion, a political talking point designed to differentiate between parties.

Oh, yes I went to a grammar in Colchester, one of two there which have always been in the top ten in league tables. Still dropped out of uni though.

Ross Lea. My last post addressed to you was at least 85% in jest. Please keep discussing guns if that is what you wish, but you needn't feel you need to engage with me.

I agree with you about the need to cull, but I sometimes wish it could be done by those who get the least pleasure from the practice. A bit like politics really, the people we wish to led us are commonly the people who don't want to. In the past I have had the great privilege of seeing some wonderful bits of nature (some times paid for by my employers) and shooting those magnificent animals never even occurred to me. For many years I never took a camera. Taking pictures gets in the way of seeing and building up memories.

SandyS or even pinnacle of academia.

SandyS,
I agree with you that a post 16 vocational education is an excellent route to higher education. Those who have the academic ability can still rise to the panicle of academia and earn a living while doing it. For the less academic there a very worthwhile and lucrative career for those who chose their trade carefully. My point is both routes should be available. The fact that Secondary Modern education is substandard is because of the failing of all parties to plan and invest in this area which I think is a national disgrace. There is a myth that the highest academically qualified people should make the best teachers. I think the opposite is true; people who have not struggled to learn do not empathise with those who do. They usually get frustrated and dismissive. You do not need a PhD to teach lower school science or even O level. I think you need a good grasp of your chosen subject but educated one level above the level you teach should be adequate. Much much more important is good communication skills, a passion for your subject and empathy with your students. I have met many excellent teachers, mostly volunteers, who could not get into teacher training. While I am on the subject it is a lack of job satisfaction that is killing the teaching profession with over work and useless paperwork. Ha! thats better.

ACK
I'm pleased your daughter is doing well, in a two tier system being in the upper tier is always best. From my experience you made the right choice for her.

At High School the languages teacher (singular) died suddenly a couple of weeks into my first term and wasn't replaced until the next year as a result I had now foreign language teaching. There was no Chemistry teacher so it was only after O Levels that I sat at the back of the class of my new school, and whilst the rest were doing Highers I taught myself enough Chemistry to pass O Level. Being used to sitting at the back of the class and doing my own thing this wasn't really a hardship, although I only did slightly more than the minimum required to pass with a bit to spare.

Like M Courtney I feel that a two tier system will do the likes of Teresa May and Margaret Thatcher very well but a large group of students won't make it to Grammar School and they will receive an inferior education from poorly motivated teachers of lesser talent at a under funded school and the better ones will move on at the earliest opportunity. Not all teenagers realise that doing the best you can at school is a good plan until too late and even more are quite happy to muddle along their whole life. I don't think politicians who for the most part have had a privileged childhood and never mixed with typical Secondary Modern pupils and teachers understand the problem of motivating this group. In past times they would have gone down the mines, or worked in factories and shipyards contributed to the countries wealth by making stuff and earned a decent amount and hopefully given their children ambitions to do well. In today's computer based service industry economy I'm not sure that a second class education is a help.

ACK
Just for the record I personally do not indulge in trophy hunting but I am not hypocritical about it as it has an important role to play in conservation of endangers species. Many of the Game farms in Africa only exist because of trophy hunters. The money helps to conserve the species and provide employment to local population who usually enjoy the meat .It also provides the incentive and resources to combat poaching. The same applies to shooting in UK preserving moors and woods with their wildlife. However wild species such as deer and wild boar have no natural predators and so must be controlled. Also agriculture pest and foxes also need control.